I get a lot of questions on cruising, none more so than “will I be happy if I purchase a cruise with XXX cruise lines?” My first answer is usually that it’s important to remember that most any cruise beats a day at work. Then I get into a few details about the individual I’m talking to, and usually give them a few options. What I am about to write is my opinion, and my opinion only. But that opinion is based in either actual experience, or real conversations with people I trust. As always, you should do some research and reach your own conclusions about what is right for you. Finally, There are no hard and fast rules, but I expect the following is pretty close to workable for most people.

The mass market lines like Carnival, NCL, and Royal Caribbean have a little something for everyone. From surfing simulators to rock climbing walls, you’ll find entertainment. Well-equipped gyms, nightlife, and good (not necessarily 5 star) food all add to the vacation experience, and these cruise lines offer all of it. The majority of cruisers on these lines are going to be 20-something to 40-something, many with families, depending on the itinerary. As I said, there are no rigid rules about this, and I’ve met plenty of very retired older people on Royal Caribbean cruises who frequented Royal as much as I do. I’ve talked to retirees who cruise Carnival more than anyone else as well. No matter the cruise line, a short 3 or 4-night itinerary will typically feature a younger crowd than a longer itinerary.

Celebrity and Princess might be a better fit for ages 30 (some might say 40) and up, but again, that’s generalizing and you will find younger folks enjoying their cruises with these lines as well. I am 43, and I quite like Celebrity, especially their Solstice Class ships. I love the ambiance of these elegant ships, the welcome champagne, and the vibe. Again, you’re likely to find a younger crowd on 7 night cruises with these lines than you would on a 14-night cruise. You’ll find less late-night partying on these lines than you would on say, a Carnival cruise to the Bahamas, but there will still be plenty of activities to keep you occupied.

At the upper end of the cruising spectrum you’ll find lines like Regent Seven Seas, Silversea, or Seabourn. These cruise lines usually offer smaller, more intimate ships, lengthier itineraries, top end dining, and cater to a well-heeled, likely retired crowd. For example, I just found a 72-night “circle South America” itinerary on Regent. While that sounds awesome to me, let’s face it, you’re not likely to find many people below the age of 60 with the ability to be away from home for that long. I know I’m repeating myself, but again, these aren’t rules, just an opinion on what you are more likely to find. These lines offer among the most expensive cruises, but they’re also “all inclusive” meaning you don’t have to worry about counting your number of drinks for budget reasons.

A couple of random thoughts. While I have a friend not that much older than me who likes Holland America, my subjective personal survey of the typical Holland America ship from across the dock indicates that they tend to attract those 55ish and up. I’d love to hear from any readers with actual experience on that. I didn’t mention Disney in this blog because I hear they are in a class by themselves. I’ll have more on that over the next year with my DINKS Cruise Disney series. Yes, the MJ on Travel team is booking a Disney Cruise, joining some friends of ours. I’ll keep you posted, but our travel agent promises me that we won’t be the first kidless couple to cruise Disney. 🙂

I’d love to hear other opinions on this topic. Feel free to comment to the post.

Marshall Jackson is an aviation enthusiast and avid cruiser. After 10 years in the airline business, Marshall moved on to a new career that includes plenty of travel and plenty of cruises, and that’s just the way he likes it.

I just returned from a 14 night cruise on HAL from Sydney to Auckland. There were fewer seniors on this trip as it was probably difficult for them to make the flight from US to Sydney. The average age was probably 45-60. Saw only one scooter and that was for a younger disable woman and only a couple of walkers. We had entertainment that was enjoyable for me – an award winning electric guitarist from Australia who played songs that I knew; a concert pianist; a musical impressionist; a comedian who wasn’t raunchy. I enjoyed the afternoon teas that we… Read more »

We have cruised on several lines – Holland America, Disney, Carnival, and soon Celebrity. Some comments. My first cruise was on HA and I expected an older crowd. It *was* an older crowd, but as one poster above pointed out there were some advantages to that. I am mid-40s and I don’t want to get drunk on a cruise and I do want to take advantage of hot tubs, pools, etc. HA had great food, wonderful service, an a good atmosphere. I especially enjoyed the lectures and the Adogio Strings. We have been on HA 3 times now and will… Read more »

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5 years ago

Guest

David

I love royal Caribbean. If you are planning on a couple cruises per year, stick with them. At my level (diamond plus) the greatest perk is free drinks in the evening (including wine, beer and mix drinks). If you drink the way most people do on their vacation, this is the best beat as none of the other cruise lines offers anything similar.

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5 years ago

Guest

Tricia

We went on family cruise–4(well-behaved)teens over Christmas holiday with Holland America. We are currently living in Hong Kong, which was the starting point, and 17 days later we arrived in Singapore. This was only our 3rd cruise, but we thought it was delightful. While there were certainly a great number of seniors, there was a good mix of ages (we’re in our 40s) and our kids enjoyed getting to know the handful of other teens on board. We were aboard for Christmas and New Years, and the meals were wonderful.

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5 years ago

Guest

Acker

My husband and I cruise once or twice a year on Crystal. We charge our cruise to my Amex Plat and receive $550 in onboard credits, excellent deal. Yes, it more expensive than some other lines and the passengers skew older but we never find that a problem. I’m in my early 50s and don’t feel out of place. Once I realized that we’d be cruising with Crystal more than once I set out to find what travel agency books the most Crystal cruises. It wasn’t too hard. We now book thru that travel agency and always receive perks on… Read more »

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5 years ago

Guest

ALCO

I started cruising at age 15 with my parents, primarily on Princess. I’m now 31, and have tried a number of lines since then (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Regent and Holland America). I’ve now cruised on Holland America about 7 times, and have really enjoyed each of my cruises with them. The service is good (it’s not Regent or Seabourne, but it’s very good for a mass-market cruise line). Food and wine are also quite good, IMHO. I actually like the fact that it’s a mainly older crowd, as late seating dinner, hot-tubs, and the more active shore excursions requiring are… Read more »

Princess is my favourite cruise line and I prefer to cruise with “mature” people so I try to avoid 7 night cruises especially during school holidays. You can never completely avoid kids as some “parents” actually take their kids out of school to cruise during times when kids belong in school which irritates me to no end. I choose a cruise based on itinerary rather than ship with price a major issue too. We will be in Spain next year for a conference so waiting anxiously for the 2014 Europe/Med itineraries to come out! I noticed that Princess is trying… Read more »

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5 years ago

Guest

Jason

I am very interested in your Disney experience. They just started sailing out of Galveston, which is our most convenient port. As one half of a DINK, I’d like to know whether to even consider Disney in the future.

Looking forward to sharing about Disney. It’s a little ways away but I will be posting about the whole experience, planning, booking, and cruising.

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5 years ago

Guest

Edward Ross

You forgot my favorite cruise line which is Oceania. The service is excellent, the food is outstanding, like a 5 star meal at every serving and all meals are open seating so you are not forced to sit with the same people for every meal. The only extras are for alcoholic beverages so you are not nickle and dimed for soda or ice cream or other things as you are on lines like Princess and Royal Caribbean. However, it is not for families as they do not have things for children so the clientele tends to be older travelers.

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5 years ago

Guest

Jeremy

I’d agree with much of what you wrote. I think the general consensus is that of the most mainstream lines (Carnival, Royal, and Norwegian), you get the best experience on Royal followed by Carnival/Norwegian being pretty close to one another depending on the ship. Having said that a similarly large ship on Royal will typically be more expensive for a similar itinerary than the others. As generally is the case, you get what you pay for. Having said that if my choice was a 4 day cruise on the Majesty of the Seas (smallest Royal ship) or a larger and… Read more »